Sexual addiction

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Sexual addiction is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The concept is contentious; as of 2026, sexual addiction is not a clinical diagnosis in either the DSM or ICD medical classifications of diseases and medical disorders, the latter of which instead classifies such behaviors as a part of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). There is considerable debate among psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, and other specialists whether compulsive sexual behavior constitutes an addiction – in this instance a behavioral addiction – and therefore its classification and possible diagnosis. Animal research has established that compulsive sexual behavior arises from the same transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms that mediate drug addiction in laboratory animals. Some argue that applying such concepts to normal behaviors such as sex can be problematic, and suggest that applying...

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